Cumbia

Cumbia is a danceable folk music genre formed during the 19th century in Colombia and eastern Panama. Its origins in Native American and African traditions give it a clearly distinctive sound, based on instruments such as keys, percussion, güiro, flutes or accordion. The percussion is characterized by the usage of three different drums: tamborera, tambor alegre and lamador. The wind instruments also consist of three types of Colombian flutes: gaita macho, gaita hembra and flauta de millo. Güiro and claves are played in 4/4 progression (in recent times, 2/4 became a common way to play). Later other instruments were added such as bongo drums, clarinets, horns and keyboards.